In my endless research on the art of shunga I was pleasantly surprised to discover the increasing amount of contemporary artists that are influenced or inspired by this artform. In my e-mail exchange with one of them, modern shunga artist Jeff Faerber, he told me: “In most of my paintings, I use shunga as inspiration, but this one, is the first time I used one for direct composition and pose of the figures.”
The painting he is talking about can be found below as is the Hokusai print it is inpired on:
‘A java script coder and a left-hander endure the results of the dating app’s algorithms which correctly projected that their libidinous prerogatives would overlap by 97%‘ (2017)
‘Orgasm ‘ (c.1821) from the series ‘Manpuku wagojin (Gods of Intercourse)‘ by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)
The artist Eva Hamon also got inspired by this Hokusai design (in reverse):
Below you can find more examples of contemporary art inspired on the ancient shunga:
‘Lesbian couple‘ (c.1814) from the series ‘Kinoe no komatsu” (Languishing for Love/ Young Pine Saplings)‘ by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)
‘Couple on verandah during winter night‘ (c.1772/73) from the series ‘Furyu juniki no eika’ (Prosperous Flowers of the Elegant Twelve Seasons)‘ by Isoda Koryusai (1735-1790)
’Gay Couple at Fukuroi station’ from the series ‘Tabimakura Gojusantsugi’ (c.1848-1854) by Koikawa Shozan (1831-1907)
‘Threesome‘ (c.1802) by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806)
‘Intimate couple on a boat‘ (c.1803) from an untitled series by Kitagawa Utamaro (1765-1806)
Click HERE for more striking Modern Shunga Art!
